Diego Simeone's problems aren't only with his defence it seems, Fernando Torres unable to find the net in his last nine appearances for the Rojiblancos. Not since match day four, against Sporting Gijon, has El Nino celebrated a goal - a full 451 minutes.The drought is all the more surprising given that the striker scored a glut of goals towards the end of last season. Six of the those nine games have been in LaLiga, the other three have come in the Champions League. Although he didn't play against Deportivo or Malaga, Torres participated in every other match since September 17: Granada and Real Madrid at the Estadio Vicente Calderon as well as trips to Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla and Real Sociedad. Not forgetting appearances against Bayern Munich and in both games against FC Rostov. The No.9 has has started in four but has only completed the full 90 minutes in two of the nine games, and with such a poor record in mind it was an odd decision by Simeone to start him ahead of Kevin Gameiro in the Madrid derby - another game Torres was unable to score in.Atletico squad, who instead will look to use the setback as an opportunity to reassess their current situation and make the necessary improvements in order to keep competing at an elite level. Though a poor run of form is undeniable at this point, the calandar does get easier on Diego Simeone's side.
April 2012 was the last time Atleti lost back to back games, against Levante and Real Madrid. Incorporating new attacking players and changing the club identity is easier said than done, and the cracks starting to show in their defence have some beginning to worry if the team is heading in the right direction to begin with. The tone in the dressing room is self-critical, which is necessary if Cholo's men are going to turn it around. It'd been a run of 170 matches since the last time Atleti dropped two straight, so more is definitely needed from the squad against Osasuna in the next week of fixtures.
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